Mass Effect: Unity
by lBridgetl
Summary: Helena Shepard. The only name that people recognise is Shepard, and she was not the Shepard they knew nor wanted. She was Helena Shepard, younger sister to Commander John Shepard of the Alliance Navy. Helena Shepard was left to die, Lena Patel was born in the shadowed parts of the galaxy with a very particular skill set. (Ghosts over ME & ME2, set in ME3. James VegaxOC. Squadmate)
1. Preface

_Preface_

In the year 2148, explorers on Mars discovered the remains of an ancient space faring civilization.

In the decades that followed, these mysterious artefacts revealed startling new technologies, enabling travel to the furthest stars.

The basis for this incredible technology was a force that controlled the very fabric of space and time.

They called it the greatest discover in human history.

The civilizations of the galaxy call it _Mass Effect._

* * *

_Mass Effect: Origin._

Living in the shadow of a legend is a rather cold feeling.

Though I loved my brother, I found it exasperating that the only constant in my life was being dragged along on his ride. Unintentional as it was, I was known in the world only as the sister of the guy who won the Blitz for the Alliance. It followed me everywhere, haunting me, clasping chains around my ankles and tossing me into deep pools of ignorance.

I was Alliance military. For a while.

Regardless of the effort I put into being the best solider I could be, I was continuously shoved backwards by John's legacy and then, to add insult to injury, I held back by my lack of legacy.

At the ripe age of 22, I did the only thing that seemed logical, to me at least.

I left the Alliance, I traded the courteous calamity of the Citadel for the darkened and dirty life that came tied to being a resident of Omega.

I left Helena Shepard to die.

I took my mother's maiden name, Patel, and got in nice and snug with Omega's defacto ruler, Aria T'Loak.

She ran everything on Omega and not one thing slipped by unnoticed by the calculating Asari woman. She had eyes and ears everywhere, and muscle too. That's where I fit in.

The Alliance gave me a particular set of skills that I honed in the streets of Omega, doing Aria's bidding with a quick tongue and a sniper rifle strapped to my back.

My job was simple: Tell this person this information. If shit gets nasty, pull the rifle off your back and fill heads with lead.

Easy money. Easy respect.

Aria came to trust me and before long, I wasn't just Lena the hired muscle, I was Lena, Aria's right hand woman.

I would go so far as to say we were friends, if a woman like Aria could have friends, that is.

Life was simple, though not always easy. Omega was like a high octane carnival ride except with more bullets.

I was sure Aria was aware that I was the sister of the great Commander Shepard, but she never mentioned it.

However, that didn't discourage my thoughts of it. Nothing escaped Aria's notice.

About a year and a half after my arrival on Omega, the station was abuzz with news.

Commander John Shepard saved the Citadel from a rouge Spectre, an obscene amount of Geth and some very large, very strange ship known as Sovereign. I saw vids of him, my brother. Interviews mostly with the occasional vid of a modern day paparazzi chasing him down on the Citadel, but it was his interviews that caught my attention.

He talked about the ship, Sovereign, more than the Geth and the Spectre. The way he talked about it, it was like he believed the ship was a who, not a what. His words made a strange tingle run up my spine and caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. _Reaper._

That's what he called it. A Reaper.

* * *

_Mass Effect: Reunion._

The shadows were not quite pitch black, but they were a shade of dark that was on par with that kind of darkness.

The red that illuminated the outside of Afterlife threw their faces into a sinister light and I couldn't bury the feeling of betrayal and fury that rose in my gut like an enraged animal rising forcefully from slumber.

I moved around them and slipped through the automated door way that led to the market place. I would enter Afterlife through the lower level and move up from there. It wasn't uncommon for me to do that, there would be no questions asked, though, I doubt any would be brave enough to ask them anyway. Omega smelt of dirt and filth and blood. It smelt... Like home. This was my home now.

The thudding bass was surrounding me as I swept across the floor, the crowd moving subconsciously to avoid me. I moved smoothly up the stairs and allowed my eyes to sweep the room.

I was too slow. They must already be above my head on the balcony overlooking the club with Aria.

I moved slowly up the stairs to not draw attention to myself. There was a woman, beautiful with a deadly grace. Her body was downright sinful in a fortified tight, white and black bodysuit, but I was more interested in the handgun strapped to her waist. I looked to the man at her side: dark skin, chocolate eyes, black armoured bodysuit, and an identical weapon strapped to his own hip.

And the object of my anger.

A man. Metal armour. Shotgun, handgun, submachine gun and the subtle blue aura of biotics.

Rough voice, fidgety. Eyes on the Batarian scanning him.

"Are you looking for this?" He asked, his voice sarcastic, he pulled the submachine gun from his lower back and held it next to his head, wiggling it teasingly.

Two guns levelled with his head and chest. His little friends pulled their guns causing newly approached henchmen to cover them with their own guns.

But none of these people were the object of attention. It was me.

The second the guns had risen against my brother, my hands subconsciously pulled two handguns, one from each hip, and aimed them steadily at the heads of those threatening John Shepard.

John's followers were visibly confused at the development. John, himself, slowly turned to face me.

"Lena." He breathed out in disbelief. "I thought you were dead." He said as all the guns began to lower.

"I could say the same for you." I spat back sourly.

Two years ago, Omega was assaulted by the vids. The news reports and the interviews, all covering the death of the late Commander Shepard.

"Cerberus," He said with a shrug, "They spent the last two years bringing me back to life to deal with the Collectors."

I stared at him and I'm almost certain I was probably looking at him like he was crazy.

"Sit down, grab a drink. I'll explain everything." He said, a small, familiar smile starting to appear on his face.

"Shepard, I really don't think we have time for-" The woman started to speak, but I had already flicked her gun out of her hand and shoved her roughly down the stairs to land solidly on her rather plump behind.

"Miranda, we have time. My sister deserves the truth. And there are some things I want to hear from her." John said, his gaze fixing on me sternly.

I had some things to answer for.

Actually, I had quite a few things to answer for.

* * *

**Author Note:**

First fanfiction. Ever.

So, I really need feedback to give me an idea on what parts I need to work on.

This story does not have a set storyline, I thought it would be interesting for you, the reader, to help shape the story.

So, drop some reviews and help me out if you can.

Thanks you for reading.

Lena's faceclaim: Phoebe Tonkin (Woo, Australian!)

_Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or the characters from Mass Effect. They are property of Bioware. I own only Lena Patel (Helena shepard)._


	2. Chapter One: Overrun

Chapter 1: Overrun.

* * *

The ringing was piercing, infuriating. I had thrown Aria around a corner just in time but I had taken the brunt of the explosive force of the several grenades that those Cerberus bastards had tossed down the darkened corridor behind us.

The force was enough to sweep me off my feet and send me sprawling several meters from where I had originally stood.

Luckily for me, I had taken the time to get kitted out in my combat armour.

I could feel the metal plates had been dented in by the force, enough to stiffen my spine but not do any real damage. My rifle had been flung from me in the explosion and it was too time consuming to find it in the dark. My handgun would have to do. I had to get Aria to the escape shuttles. We weren't far now.

I had overheard order over the comms of a fallen Cerberus soldier.

_Kill Aria if you can but that is a secondary objective. The real objective is to secure Omega from her control._

If I could get Aria on a shuttle and away from Omega, she would be safe. They wouldn't try and pursue her.

"Lena!" Aria's voice was a forceful whisper, semi loud but not enough to draw the attention of the several soldiers down the hall.

"Lena, we have to move." She said, grasping my metal covered forearm.

"I know," I groaned back. There was a warm, tickling sensation that passed down my spine from neck to lower back. "Come on, let's move."

I stood slowly, trying to keep the damaged plates protecting my back from groaning in protest and alerting the soldiers to my survival.

I managed an awkward crouching position and crawled around the same corner I had tossed Aria behind.

"You're bleeding." She said suddenly and pressed her fingers to the back of my neck.

_Well, that explains the warm tickle. It was a trickle of blood._

"It's not too bad, you must have been nicked by shrapnel." She assessed before withdrawing her fingers.

My hair was soaking up the blood on the back of my neck and I could feel the weight of my hair slowly getting heavier in the slightest.

"We'll deal with it later." I said as we began our slow journey along the corridor. "We need to get out of here first. You heard that comm notification as clear as I did."

I could see the shuttle bay just ahead there were three remaining shuttles but judging by the catastrophic visuals we passed, Aria and I were the only ones getting out of here.

Moklan and Anto had stayed back, they were going to hold Cerberus as long as they could.

If need be, I would stay behind and do the same while Aria boarded the shuttle and left. She gave me a life worth living, I would do whatever I could to keep hers going.

I launched myself at the first shuttle. No power. It must have been damaged.

Second shuttle. Same result.

My stomach was clenched at this unusual pattern. I was dreading what we might find at the third shuttle.

Fuck. All three shuttles were unusable.

I sounded my frustration in a flurry of swearing.

"What the fuck are we going to do now? There's no ships and no shuttles. If they find us, we're dead. I'm basically out of ammo, there's enough for three guys, max." I said, slamming my armoured hands down on the last, useless shuttle with a loud, resounding clang.

"Lena, don't be so dramatic." Aria said cooly, "Cerberus had to get in somehow, and I can tell you now, it wasn't with frigates. There had to be shuttles around that we can... _Commandeer._" I smirked at that.

"And you wonder why they call you the Pirate Queen of Omega." I straightened up as much as my damaged armour would allow.

"You're right, of course. We need to find a shuttle, kill the fuckers on it and fly it as far away as we can get. With a bit of luck we can flag down passing vessels and hitch a ride to the Citadel." I checked my thermal clip. "Agreed?"

"Agreed." She said with a slight nod, "We need to get our asses moving. That little bitch fit at the shuttle might have alerted nearby patrols." A little twinge of guilt and shame twisted in my stomach but I did what any good mercenary did. I ignored it and soldiered ahead. We came across a few dead soldiers, and while I was cautious about who killed them, I still was grateful for the clips I pocketed and the SMG Aria took from the stiffened, dead hands of a soldier.

We moved quickly and quietly, I scouted ahead and checked if the coast was clear before signalling for Aria to follow along every few metres. We were staying away from Afterlife and the centre of the station. No doubt, that's where the soldiers would be stationed in force. Instead, we coasted around the starboard side of the station, which, luckily for us, seemed deserted, but I knew better than to expect there to be no soldiers at all.

Every so often, we would happen across a patrol of dead soldiers.

Whoever it was was efficient and ahead of us.

Now and again, there would be a soft crackling from my personal comm. I would activate the channel and whisper out my credentials to see if there was a response.

"Moklan, Anto, this is Lena Patel, I have Queen, does anybody read me?" I said, my voice, though frantic, was low, "I repeat, this is Lena Patel with Queen, is there anybody there?"

Nothing. Silence.

Then the crackling again.

Someone was there, but Cerberus must have put up some sort of jamming device. Not jamming towers, they'd be too large. But something was stopping the communications.

"Fuck. Comms are down. I can hear someone activating their comm but all I'm getting is crackling." I informed Aria. She nodded slowly, in thought.

"It could be whoever is ahead of us. But I'm not ready to bet my life on it quite yet." She said with a slight smile.

We kept moving.

Finally, I saw our salvation. A shuttle flying white, black and orange. The colours of Cerberus.

"Wait here, I'll check it out and let you know if it's safe and operational." I whispered to Aria before skirting around the shuttle to the open door.

Anto was in the pilot seat fiddling around with the comms.

"Come on, Lena... Come on..." He muttered to himself while he tuning it into a channel I recognised as ours.

"Anto!" I said relieved. He spun in the chair, his hand going for the gun but relaxed as he recognised me.

"Lena! I was hoping you would come, where's Aria? Is she alive? Is she okay?" His questions flew from his mouth in that strange Turian bi-tonal voice of his.

"She's fine, Anto. I told her to wait back while I checked out the shuttle." I leaned around the door and signalled to Aria to come to the shuttle. "I don't suppose you know anything about the dead Cerberus soldier trail that lead all the way here?" I said, my voice taking on a slight comic tone.

"Who, me?" Anto said, turning back to the controls and prepping the shuttle for take off as Aria leaped through the opened shuttle door that closed promptly behind her. "Not at all." He said over his shoulder with a very wolfish grin crossing his Turian face.

"Let's get out of here." I muttered. "This place is overrun."

* * *

**Authors' note: **

Still need a little direction here, but thanks to StckMan for the input.

Hoping this has enough to help you with a more structured thought on the story.

Thank you for reading.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Characters from Mass Effect. They are property of Bioware. I own only Lena Patel (Helena Shepard)._


	3. Chapter Two: Safety

_Chapter 2: Safety._

* * *

We had enough fuel to drift for a day or two, but it wasn't needed. We were picked up by a shipping vessel that held the workers and their families. The commander of the vessel was a Turian named Gactius. He welcomed Anto warmly, and by extent, Aria and myself.

Some Turians are apprehensive and cold towards humans, but this Turian was as kind as they come. He didn't care what species we were, he was just glad to help.

Aria explained the predicament I was in. My neck has been slashed by flying debris and, as I discovered on the shuttle, I was trapped in my armour. The dented plates prevented me from moving them as they had become welded together, in a sense.

Within five minutes, I was on my stomach in their med bay with their human medic hovering over me as he carefully cut my armour open, plate by dented plate.

"Looks like you took a hell of a beating." He said, conversationally as he pulled away the plate he had just made incisions to and dropped it on a metal trolley with a deep clang.

"Had worse." I said in response and shifted slightly. My back had been stuck in a stiffened position for close to eight hours now and it was very, very uncomfortable. "Can't wait to be able to move properly though." I muttered and his amused chuckle made me smile. Just a little.

Here I was, Aria T'Loak's big bad right hand, whinging and whining about a sore back.

I felt like I deserved the right to bitch about my situation. Quite frankly, I was exhausted.

The entirety of the escape from Omega, I was running on pure adrenaline. Eventually it has to catch up and it did. I was hit by such a tidal wave of relief, anxiety, tiredness, anger and sadness all at the same time that I was surprised it didn't crush me straight into unconsciousness.

Moklan gave his life for Aria and I. I would never forget that. I couldn't forget it. That asshole Batarian was the reason I was alive. But he wasn't an asshole Batarian, not to me.

He was the Batarian who saved my life.

I was so deep in thought that I didn't even realise my release until the medic swept my hair away from my neck and began spreading medi-gel over the small wound.

"It's a lot deeper than I thought, but there was no real damage, didn't even get any nerves. You were lucky." He said as a finished with the medi-gel. "Very lucky."

He dropped the medi-gel onto the trolley next to the sad twisted remains of my armour. I pulled my chest plate off. Most would be embarrassed to be wearing only a top that the old world would call an exercise bra but I was not most people. I had experience with medics, they were professionals who weren't as easily distracted as most civilians believed. To prove my point, the medic didn't even bat am eyelash.

"Do you want to lay back down and I'll put a salve on the bruising on your back?" He said as he turned away to pick up what I assumed to be the salve, "it won't fix it instantly but the bruising and pain should be gone within half an hour or so." I nodded in response and laid back on my stomach. The salve was a cold gel that I could feel sinking into my muscles and soothing them. I sighed deeply. It was a relaxing feeling.

"Right, well you're all done now. I'll contact Gactius and see if there is any clothing available that would fit you." He said with a smile that I would describe as warm and kind.

As soon as the automated doors of the med bay opened, Gactius was standing there, a piece of black cotton over his arm. He offered it and I opened it to reveal a simple tank top. I pulled it over my head with a muttered thanks.

"Aria fold us everything that happened on Omega," he said, simply. "We're heading for the Citadel. There's refuge camps there for people who fled the Reapers." There it was again. That word.

I'd heard it several times in the last few weeks. The Reapers were a race of huge sentient machines who were here to wipe out all life in the galaxy. John had been right all along. And nobody had listened. Not even me.

He sent me a message about six months ago. He told me to get off Omega, to get to the Citadel. He said that the Terminus systems were in the most danger. And I didn't listen.

Instead, I sent the message to the message archive and never looked at it again. I was busy with life on Omega. Doing jobs for Aria, keeping an eye on certain people.

I even saw a man, big, burly, tattooed, rip a screen from a wall and beat several Batarians with it. Aria said he was Alliance, but we didn't know much beyond that except for a name, 'Vega'. He didn't cause any trouble for Aria so we kept our distance and never bothered him.

"That's good. I heard the Citadel was supposed to be one of the safest places in the galaxy." I acknowledged with a slight.

"Yes, well, we'll be there in a few hours. There's a spare cot in the sleeping quarters. You should get some rest, you've been through hell." He said, indicating the direction if the quarters.

"Okay." I mumbled. He turned to leave, "Gactius," he turned at the mention of his voice, "Thank you." I said, sincerely, "For everything. You could have left us there, but you didn't. Instead, you helped us and offered us safety."

* * *

**Author's note:**

This is really just a filler chapter, but I felt like it should be there. I wanted to acknowledge Moklan's sacrifice.

And yes, Lena knows of Vega, but she's never actually met him so I can't wait for that to happen.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or it's characters. They are property of Bioware. I own only Lena Patel (Helena Shepard). _

Thank you for reading.


	4. Chapter Three: Hell Bound

Chapter 3: Hell Bound

* * *

I was shaken awake by a young Turian boy. I'd see him around the ship, following his mother closely as if he was scared of losing her. Which, I reminded myself, was entirely probable. The ship was very overcrowded. While the ship was fairly large, indicating that it was built to transport massive amounts of cargo, it felt physically crowded. I'd guess there to be about 150 on board a ship designed for a crew of maybe 20 plus cargo.

It seemed Gactius had tried to help as many as he could to escape the oncoming slaughter of the Reapers. He allowed me access to his private Terminal.

**1739H72917S**

**xxxxxxxxxx**

Flashed across the screen before acknowledging my credentials and password were correct, logging me in to my messages.

I noticed one from John.

_Lena, _

_Earth has been hit. Hard. _

_I escaped on the Normandy with a skeleton crew. Major Alenko made it, but Anderson insisted on staying behind._

_I'm heading to the Citadel after I make a stop at the Mars Archives. _

_If you get this, just know I love you and I hope your safe. _

_Please reply if you get this. _

_Commander John Shepard. _

I wanted details on what happened to Earth, and what the hell he was thinking when he left Anderson behind, but I knew I wouldn't get them. Not until I found him on the Citadel.

Alenko. Major Alenko. Last time I saw Kaidan, we were lowly privates fresh out of the academy. Now he was ranked higher than John. I tried to remember Kaidan. Heavy, serious eyebrows. Kind. Deep. Chocolate eyes. Righteous. He was always kind to me. There was a time where I thought I might actually have developed feelings for him, but when I ran from my old identity, I recognised what I originally thought to be feelings of lust or, dare I say it, love, were actually feelings of desperation. I wanted someone, anyone to want me for me. Through it all, I did love Kaidan. But I loved him as I loved John. I loved him, but I wasn't in love with him.

I began typing a response to John.

_John, _

_I'm okay. _

_Cerberus attacked Omega, they drove us out. They would have killed Aria if I didn't get her out in time. _

_They damaged all the escape shuttles to the point of being useless, Anto hijacked a Cerberus shuttle before we caught up with him and we managed to flag down a civilian vessel. _

_We're headed to the Citadel now. _

_I took a hit from some grenades, nothing serious, I was wearing armour. _

_Just a small cut and some bruising, the medic took care of it all. I'm 100% now. _

_I'll meet you of the Citadel. Meet me in Purgatory, the club we used to go to. _

_I love you too,_

_Lena. _

I began to encrypt the message. No way was I taking any chances with those Cerberus bastards so close.

"Miss Patel?" The unmistakable bi-tonal voice of a Turian, it was Gactius. "We're approaching the Citadel, ETA ten minutes." I nodded and turned back to the screen.

Archived messages

I clicked it and began reading John's warning.

_Lena,_

_I know you have no reason to believe me, but the Reapers are coming. _

_You need to leave the Terminus Systems and get to the Citadel. It'll be the safest place for you. _

_I took out the Collector base, blew that mother to Kingdom come, but my time as a vigilante is past over. _

_I'm handing myself in to the Alliance within the next few days. _

_You have to believe me. _

_The Reapers are coming and they will show no mercy, they will slaughter everyone and everything. _

_You need to get to safety. _

_Please, Lena. For me. _

_I'll see you if I can. _

_Commander John Shepard, your brother. _

I didn't listen.

It may not have been the Reapers that caused us to flee Omega, but if I had listened, I could have avoided it. Aria would never have been in danger. While there was enough red tape on the Citadel to sink a cruiser, Aria was important enough for the Asari councillor to give her nearly everything she wanted or needed. We would have ended up on the Citadel either way. And Moklan. Moklan would still be alive. He wouldn't have died to save us from the Cerberus siege.

Heat welled up in my eyes and I realised my eyes were filled with tears of anger. Anger at Cerberus. Anger at myself. I wiped them away furious at myself for allowing that kind of emotional response. I was Lena Patel, a mercenary. I shouldn't be crying. I was supposed to be tough. I took a deep breath and shut my eyes forcefully.

I am Lena Patel. I am a mercenary. I do not cry. I am tough.

I opened my eyes again and my breath was released in a shaky, angry breath. All I could feel now was fury. I felt it like molten lava in my stomach, burning and raging. How _dare_ they attack Omega. How _dare_ they attack Aria. How _dare_ they attack _me._

_Me._ I am Lena fucking Patel. I am a tough as nails mercenary. I kill people for a living.

Those fuckers just fucked with the wrong mercenary.

_Game on, Cerberus. Game on. _

I made a silent pact with myself, my hands clutching the desk the terminal sat upon. My knuckles were white as I grasped it like it was the throat of The Illusive Man himself.

Any Cerberus operatives, anybody bearing the mark of Cerberus were well and truly fucked once I got a hold of them. Aria would remain on the Citadel, no doubt in Purgatory, but me? I would join anybody who was heading to meet Cerberus in a battle.

I would kill every last one of those fuckers if it killed me. I ignored the thought that was nudging at my attention, the one that was telling me that it might actually kill me. I ignored it, replaced it with a thought that made the corners of my mouth twitch up into what could only be described as a feral snarl.

If it kills me, then so be it. Just as long as I drag as many of those fuckers down with me as I can. Looks like we're all hell bound.

* * *

**Author's note: **

I hate Cerberus. I hate having to work with them in Mass Effect 2.

With the exception of Cerberus defects like Miranda, Jacob and Kelly. They seemed to realise the error of their ways.

In this chapter, I really wanted to capitalize on Lena being human. She has emotions, strong ones evidently, sometimes she doesn't think things through, she makes mistakes and she feels regret. I want her to be relatable, not unobtainable (Mary Sue).

Sure, she's an excellent marksman and a little scary sometimes, but she still makes mistakes, and gets hurt.

Anyway, feel free to leave your thoughts on how I could improve anything or plot ideas or just what you think of it.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or it's characters. They are property of Bioware. I own only Lena Patel (Helena Shepard). _


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